The meaning of Wandering in Carefree Ease in Taoism 什么是逍遥
Paul PengThe meaning of Wandering in Carefree Ease in Taoism
Also written as Xiaoyao (消摇). An important concept in Zhuangzi's philosophy, meaning free and carefree, dwelling in ease—referring to the absolute freedom of the spirit. The term derives from Zhuangzi·Xiaoyao You (庄子·逍遥游, "Free and Easy Wandering").
The meaning of Wandering in Carefree Ease in Taoism
The reasons for failing to attain carefree ease are "dependence" (you dai, 有待) and "having a self" (you ji, 有己). The great bird Peng migrates to the Southern Darkness, yet its soaring flight depends on wings like clouds and gales that bear it aloft. Liezi (列子) rides the wind, yet he depends on the wind—that cannot count as true carefree ease. True carefree ease must be free of all dependence. Freedom from all dependence first requires freedom from self (wu ji, 无己). Freedom from self is achieved through zuowang (坐忘, "sitting in forgetting"): forgetting joy and sorrow, gain and loss, praise and blame, dissolving distinctions between right and wrong, obliterating the boundaries between self and other, reaching the state of the True Person, Spirit Person, and Sage: acting in accord with nature and doing nothing, uniting with the Dao, dwelling in the world yet wandering in carefree ease.
Being free of all dependence and wandering through the boundless—soaring without restriction through all conditions of yin and yang, wind and rain, darkness and light—this is the realm of true, absolute freedom. Zhuangzi's "Free and Easy Wandering" exerted a profound influence on later Taoism and on Chinese society as a whole, becoming an integral part of the Chinese national character. China's deep-rooted tradition of yielding without contention and withdrawing from the world all share a common pulse with Zhuangzi's spirit. "When I wander in carefree ease, all things likewise wander in carefree ease"—it is at once the supreme aesthetic realm pursued by distinguished hermits and scholars, and the spiritual shelter of self-consolation for ordinary people.
